Reveille in tune at NBC

Silverman shingle to operate separately
By MICHAEL SCHNEIDER

Ben Silverman has been a prime mover of primetime during the past decade, instigating more than a few game-changing deals and shows.

The exec helped launch contemporary boom in unscripted TV, fueled the broadcast web's mania for foreign formats and pushed the boundaries of product integration on the small screen.

His Reveille shingle's recent string of success - including "The Office" and "Ugly Betty" - made the indie producer a hot property, and indeed, Silverman was mulling several options - including a potential sale. That's what made NBC Universal president-CEO Jeff Zucker act fast.

"Ben had a lot of people chasing him for a long time, even the last couple of weeks," Zucker said. "We got into conversations, and this evolved from that."

Now, the industry wonders, can Ben Silverman inject a little 21st century into NBC - or will he be forced to learn a thing or two about how to manage one still rooted in the 20th?

Zucker, who first met Silverman when he took over the Peacock entertainment presidency in 2000, has grown so impressed with Silverman over the years that he calls his new employee "the most prolific producer of his generation."

"He brings a great energy and enthusiasm and a new way of doing business to NBC," Zucker told reporters Tuesday.

Contrary to early scuttlebutt, Zucker said NBC U had no plans to purchase Reveille outright but was focused on finding a way to recruit Silverman. (The Peacock wound up extending its first-look deal with Reveille by another two years.)

And Silverman is no fool: Jobs like the one he just landed, co-chairman (with Marc Graboff) of NBC Entertainment and NBC Universal TV Studio, don't last forever.

That's why he negotiated an arrangement in which Reveille will continue to operate separately, with Silverman remaining as owner. He'll also continue to have a say in Reveille shows already on the air (including ones on rival nets, like "Betty") but won't have a financial stake in new ones moving forward.

"I didn't want to sell Reveille," Silverman said. "Reveille will continue and remain robust. It will service all of its existing shows as it has previously, as well as generate and create new ideas."

Such a move is not unprecedented: When Robert Greenblatt left Greenblatt-Janollari Studio to take the Showtime entertainment presidency, he left control to partner David Janollari but remained a silent partner. (When Janollari left as well, for the WB, the company shut down development but continued to operate as the producer of existing shows.)

Silverman declined to comment on who may now run day-to-day operations at Reveille. Silverman's Reveille lieutenants include Christopher Grant, who currently oversees the shingle's expanding international business, and creative affairs execs Howard Owens and Marc Koops.

In allowing Silverman to keep his business on the side, Zucker was apparently anxious to translate the producer's success streak to NBC, which remains stuck in last place among the Big Four.

Silverman shot to stardom in 1999, when, as a William Morris agent, he helped bring a domestic version of U.K. hit "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" to ABC. The gamer not only opened the door to a modern tide of reality TV in primetime but also opened the door to a new wave of sponsorship deals.

Silverman spent six years at William Morris, where he served as the agency's youngest division head ever. He left his gig as head of international packaging to launch Reveille at Universal in 2002. Deal at the time repped Barry Diller's first major production agreement in the wake of USA Entertainment's reunion with Vivendi Universal and was also USA Entertainment chairman-CEO Michael Jackson's biggest deal during his tenure there.

After NBC took over Universal, Silverman began licensing the NBC U format lineup internationally for the Peacock -- closing more than 50 format deals in more than 30 countries within one year (Daily Variety, Feb. 24, 2005). But in 2005, Silverman opted to take back full financial control of Reveille.

Initially known more for his reality TV prowess, Silverman mined foreign formats to bring a new wave of scripted skeins adapted from overseas hits -- some flops, such as "Coupling," which fizzled quickly on NBC; and some successes, including NBC Emmy-winning "The Office" and ABC's "Ugly Betty."

Off primetime, Reveille touts its accomplishments in the digital and international realm -- taking its formats globally, for example -- just as heavily.

Reveille's track record also includes such unscripted skeins as "The Biggest Loser," "Identity," "Blow Out," "Nashville Star," "30 Days" and "The Restaurant."